The Mark of the Ambassador
by TheMetaisAwoken
Summary: Even if the best of friends are continents apart, they shall continue to fight tooth and nail to protect those dearest to them. However, everyone has a limit, and Bulbasaur could soon reach his, as Ash's team faces a powerful threat on their own.
1. The Awakening

**AN; Hey, everyone! Don't worry, I'm still working on TD, I've just decided to start this bigger project. I'll explain it a little more later on, but for now, enjoy the first chapter. There may be some mistakes, if there are remind me to fix them, and keep all criticism constructive. See you at the bottom!**

**Pokémon speak in italics, if you're interested.  
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**Chapter 1 - The Awakening**

It was almost silent at the Pallet Town Laboratory that morning – the only sounds that could be heard were the gentle swooshing of the laboratory's windmill breaking through the light breeze, the calm twittering of the various bird type Pokémon outside, and the vibrant yet unobtrusive beeping coming from Professor Oak's computer. Collectively, they acted as a soothing lullaby for the creature resting on the Professor's couch.

Lying on his front, with his signature magnificent green bulb poking into the air like some deformed scatter cushion, was the grass Pokémon, Bulbasaur. The four-legged lizard was breathing steadily, as an unusual bubble coming from his left nostril gradually increased and decreased in size. Professor Oak ascended the steps leading up into the research floor, his eyes scanning the pages of a book open in his palm. The sleeping Pokémon issued a snort and fidgeted slightly on the couch cushion, and Oak's gaze shifted over to it, having only just noticed the creature was still there. He beamed at it – he was happy that it was sleeping peacefully, but work had to be done.

"Bulbasaur!" Oak shouted towards the creature's green form. Bulbasaur awoke with a bark of surprise, and unceremoniously toppled off of the couch and landed on his face. Oak winced as it steadied itself, groaning, and tottered sleepily over to the Professor, a big red bruise amongst the dark green blotches on his forehead. Oak fumbled in his pocket and brought out a small band aid, from which he removed the backing and knelt down to stick it to Bulbasaur's head, who gave a pleasant grin of appreciation.

"I just wanted to thank you for your assistance yesterday, Bulbasaur," Oak began, standing back up as he spoke, "it really was tough work sorting all of those Poké Balls, and you did a good job. You know, I would have had Tracey do it, but I'm afraid he's been busy with… other things…" He trailed off, looking out the arched windows at the far end of the room, where the sunrise was shining beautifully beyond the horizon. Bulbasaur cocked his head to one side, confused.

"Anyway," Oak continued, regaining his train of thought, yet seeming rather flustered, "hopefully he'll complete his job soon – oh, speak of the devil!" As at that moment, Tracey had hurried up the steps Oak had risen mere moments ago, red in the face with a screwdriver in his hand and his headband in the other, which he then used to wipe his brow. Oak grimaced a little at this; it couldn't have been hygienic to use that as a handkerchief.

"All finished, Professor!" he panted, steadying himself against the wall next to Oak's large computer screen to catch his breath.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Oak replied happily, nodding, before something seemed to click in his head and his expression became almost solemn and his tone became hushed, "though… none of the workers are aware of our present situation, are they?"

"Well, yes," Tracey replied, scratching his head in a guilty manner, "though I ended up having to tell Bill. You know how he is, Professor, he'd chase me to the grave for an answer…" Oak nodded in acknowledgement, clasping his hands together behind his back and staring distantly towards the sunrise again. Bulbasaur continued to glance between the two men, his confusion gradually elevating with each passing second. Oak almost seemed to sense this, as his eyes suddenly shifted to look at the Seed Pokémon. There was noticeable suspicion in his eyes.

"Bulbasaur," he abruptly smiled, "your friends are most likely wondering where you are. Maybe you should hurry outside and find them?" Bulbasaur continued to stare at him with his bulbous red eyes, his head tilted to the side, before nodding and scurrying off towards the stairs. However, thoughts regarding what he had just heard swirled around in his brain – what had Oak set Tracey to work on, and why were they trying to keep it a secret? His curiosity getting the better of him, he sprang down the first few steps, before coming to a halt and listening intently to the conversation nearby.

"… seems like an exercise in futility, Professor, surely we should be developing ways to protect the Pokémon?" Tracey's voice asked. Bulbasaur's interest peaked – now the Pokémon were in danger, too?

"I wish it were that simple, Tracey…" Oak answered gravely, "defending the Pokémon is something that we're good at, we've come to expect it as a threat. But this… this is on a different scale…" Tracey gave a distressed groan.

"When do you think that they'll strike, Professor…?" he asked so quietly Bulbasaur could only just hear it. There was a moment of silence, possibly so Oak could contemplate his answer.

"Our informant has told me that they have just crossed through Mt. Silver. Supposedly they have set up a diversion north-west of New Bark to prevent interference by the Elite Four. Judging by their progress, they'll probably have arrived – hmm?" Oak's explanation was cut short by a loud clunking noise from downstairs. Bulbasaur panicked, scampering down the rest of the stairs as footsteps approached his location. He headed towards the open door at the end of the hallway, and passed Muk, who was busy reorganized cluttered saucepans that had fallen to the floor, probably mere moments ago. It noticed Bulbasaur, and placed a finger to its lips (or, where its lips would have been, if it had any).

Head-butting the back door open to leave into the fields outside to screams of 'argh, Muk, get off' issuing from further up the hallway, Bulbasaur dashed towards the nearby wooden fence of a separate paddock. Far beyond it was a familiar cloud of dust rampaging through the green, while the noise of hooves echoed throughout the pastures towards where he was. The almighty sound was so loud that Bulbasaur didn't notice something creep up behind him until it leapt onto his bulb and started enthusiastically sucking at it.

"_H-hey, hey! Heracross, cut it out!_" Bulbasaur yelled, thrashing around pugnaciously to throw the beetle off, who seemed to find the enigmatic nectar inside Bulbasaur's bulb very tasty. Eventually, Bulbasaur wrapped his vines around the beetle and lifted it away, flinging it away a few feet. Regardless of how injured the beetle might have been after this, it stood back up and continued to stare at Bulbasaur with a wonderfully optimistic expression in his face.

"_Hey, Bulbasaur. How's it going, man?_" Heracross asked in a low, contented voice. Bulbasaur frowned. Though he was annoyed at Heracross, he needed to confide in someone about what he had just seen. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain.

"_Heracoss, I just heard Oak and Tracey talking inside… something makes me think we're all in danger, and I don't know how long we've got before it comes,_" Bulbasaur sulked, pawing the ground in distress. He had no idea what he should do, and it was upsetting him considerably. Heracross, however, seemed to be completely indifferent.

"_Dude, I'm sensing some negative emotions coming from you, man. You just gotta settle down 'n' relax sometimes, man, otherwise you're gonna end up all sick. Wanna come and get some sap down you, dude?_" Heracross asked, taking a few steps towards Bulbasaur, swaying drunkenly a little as he moved. Bulbasaur shook his head, ashamed.

"_No, Heracross. Drinking sap isn't the solution for everything. Honestly, I'm starting to feel really nervous about this, maybe we should start preparing, just in case…_" Bulbasaur cried, but was cut short by what could only be described as being whatever Bulbasaur had been dreading the most at that very moment.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from the laboratory, the noise ripping through the air so aggressively that the two Pokémon were forced backwards a few paces. Smoke and ash soared into the sky, and when it settled, vast flames were flickering near the northern end of the building. Screams and shouts roared through the air, and Pokémon all around the pastures started barking and rampaging in uncontrollable fits of rage and anguish. Bulbasaur glared at the flames in silent fear, the dancing and curling embers augmenting the deep burgundy of his eyes. Again, Heracross seemed apathetic.

"_Heh, seems a bit late for that now, dude."_

**AN; I'm not a massive fan of the animé anymore, but my favorite episodes were always the ones where the Pokémon went around on their own and got up to wacky adventures, like the shorts at the start of the movies. All I want is a proper arc showcasing how Ash's team fares on their own, but because the animé guys never give the fans anything they want, ever... that's what fanfiction is for, though, I guess. Okay, see you soon! **


	2. Various Antics

**AN; I'm seriously not happy with this... hopefully when I've got more time on my hands, I'll do better. Because it's a little rushed due to all my coursework and revision and that, there may be mistakes. If you see one, please point it out for me and I'll try and fix it. Anyway, keep criticism constructive, as usual, and... uh, try your best to enjoy. Please please review I like them.**

**Chapter 2 - Various Antics**

Even though the two creatures weren't far away from the laboratory where the explosion had taking place, the journey back to it seemed to go on for an era. Bulbasaur couldn't bear to think about what he might find when he returned – what if the Professor was seriously injured, or even worse? Who were the people who had attacked, and what if they were still there? In an act of insane desperation, Bulbasaur charged head first at the door he had left the building through mere moments ago and crashed into it. Rather than bursting through the door as Bulbasaur had expected, he felt a skull-splitting pain, and collapsed to the grass, massaging the top of his cranium.

"_Ouch… that… that definitely isn't wood…_" he grunted, glaring towards the clearly wooden panels, "_Heracross, try and break down that door for me, can you?_" The beetle, who was facing away from the chaos and licking his lips for any excess sap that he might have missed, turned around and gave an awkward, jerking nod, before ambling over to the entrance and hunching over like a sumo. He gave a roar of determination, and smashed into the frame with his powerful horn. The timber splintered and cracked, but Heracross took a somewhat reluctant step back and teetered drunkenly to his ally.

"_The wood's got, like, metal behind it, man…_" Heracross smirked, before letting out a loud snore and collapsing onto his back, asleep. Bulbasaur blinked foolishly, confused by how suddenly this happened. He shook his head in shame, and then started perusing the outside of the building, urgently trying to figure out a way to get inside to find out what was going on. The outside of the lab appeared almost the same as before – the walls were still white as normal, and the windmill was still slowly revolving in the light morning breeze. However, the windows appeared to have some kind of shutters behind them, but Bulbasaur was too low down to see them properly.

"_If Heracross can't break through…_" Bulbasaur considered, "_that means that some kind of defensive mechanism's been activated…_" He glanced around the area, hoping to find something that could help him get inside, but the only objects in the immediate vicinity were grass, spare two-by-fours, grass, a plastic bowl, and grass. Also, there was Heracross' sleeping form, which was snoring like a rusty buzz saw, but he wouldn't be of any use. Bulbasaur decided he needed the assistance of another Pokémon.

"_I just hope I can reach them in time…_"

-Some Time Later-

"_There's no way I can reach them in time... Quilava! Quilava!_" Bulbasaur shouted, clambering haphazardly over the rough terrain of the mountainous area. It had taken him far too long to arrive here, and he didn't have enough energy to navigate the rock-strewn ground as he had sprinted the whole way there. He groaned, dragging himself over a particularly sheer ledge, his hind legs scraping helplessly against the rock for support.

"_Quilava!_" he roared, crumpling onto the floor, his muscles aching from the strain that he'd put upon them. He heard a scuffling from a nearby cave, and out popped a blue weasel-like creature with a cream underbelly, with several red spots dotted around its back. Its pointed ears twitched curiously as it gazed around sleepily. After a moment, it noticed Bulbasaur lying a few feet away and inclined its head to one side in silent curiosity.

"_Bulbasaur, what a pleasant surprise…_" Quilava said stoically, heaving itself up onto his hind legs and staring towards the gradually concluding sunrise. Bulbasaur staggered to his feet, wincing.

"_Please, I need your help… the lab, it's under attack, but not even Heracross can break into there…_" Bulbasaur explained, before coughing violently and tumbling forward, smacking his nose against the stone. Quilava simply stared at the green creature with a look that seemed to resemble something along the lines of interest, though it was difficult to tell. It seemed determined to show as little emotion about the matter as was realistically possible.

"_You're breaking into it? So it is you who is attacking the lab, then?_" Quilava asked curiously. This seemed to strike a nerve, as Bulbasaur leapt to his feet and quickly shook his head.

"_Of course not!_" cried Bulbasaur. Quilava angled his head again, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

"_Then who is?_" he asked. Bulbasaur opened his mouth to answer, but was struck dumb – he pawed at the pebbles underfoot, slightly embarrassed. Accurately reading what this meant, Quilava gave a noiseless nod, and flopped down onto all fours, focusing on where the laboratory was. Then, without a word to Bulbasaur, he sprinted down the mountain, dodging boulders and flipping off of ledges with awesome agility.

"_W-wait! How do I – argh, damn fancy punk…_" grumbled Bulbasaur, taking a tentative step towards a nearby ledge. He gulped as he suddenly realised how high up he had travelled, and he gingerly lowered himself over one of the nearby ledges. Straining his front limbs out towards the niche below, he tried to reach it without injuring himself, but instead slipped, fell straight past the ledge and landed on the third one below it.

"_Urgh… this… this is not a good day for me…_" grunted Bulbasaur, staggering around on the spot with his eyes glassy and unfocused. Behind him, he heard a loud screech of laughter, which was quickly stifled. Suspicious, he turned around, and saw a large blue bird with elegant wings and red markings perched on a handy branch sticking out of a crevice in the rock face. Swellow gave him a perky, roguish smile, as though he had no idea why Bulbasaur was giving him a murderous glower.

"_How long have you been there!_" Bulbasaur cried. Swellow shrugged its wings.

"_Since you started screaming Quilava's name like he'd just denied you mating privileges,_" Swellow smirked. Bulbasaur was so taken aback by this that he almost tumbled straight off of the narrow ledge he was perched on to his untimely death. Something which Swellow seemed to find rather funny, much to his chagrin.

"_Look, can you just help me down already!_" Bulbasaur barked, scrabbling at the cliff face in front of him for a form of support. Swellow scratched underneath its beak with its wing, as though he was having difficulty deciding whether or not to accept. Bulbasaur shot the bird another murderous glower, which Swellow responded to with a smirk.

"_Yeah, I guess so, if it's really that important,_" Swellow conceded. Bulbasaur gave a sigh of relief, right before Swellow pecked him in the face and caused him to lose his grip on the rock face. Screaming all the way down, Bulbasaur was only rescued when Swellow snatched him up in his talons right at the very last second, cackling like a maniac.

"_There! You're down!_" laughed Swellow, rising higher into the sky so he could scope out Oak's laboratory.

"_You… feathery… dumbass…_"Bulbasaur snarled. His voice voice was shuddering dangerously from a catastrophic fusion of intense rage and an abundance of fear.

"_Oh dear, you're right! I'm so dumb; I forgot to hold onto you!_" Swellow replied, dropping Bulbasaur on cue and listening with a look of satisfaction as he screamed, plummeting to the earth below. Before Bulbasaur splattered all over the meadow, however, Swellow was able to catch him, and deposited him next to Quilava and the slumbering Heracross.

"_What do you need me to do?_" Quilava asked over his shoulder to a Bulbasaur who was staggering around, his face a very different shade of pale green. Taking a moment to regain his breath and shoot a final glare at a contented Swellow, he turned to face the splintering door.

"_Heracross thought… urp… that there's metal behind that door, so try and burn it…_" burbled Bulbasaur, pointing at the lab's entrance. Quilava nodded, and then suddenly made the flames explode out of his back, giving him an overall more menacing appearance. Just as suddenly, he released a magnificent, swirling jet of flame towards the door, which began to blacken and turn to charcoal almost on contact. Shortly afterwards, there was a large indent in the wood. Behind it was a glowing red, slightly ashen bulkhead door.

"_There's no melting through that,_" Quilava admitted. Bulbasaur frowned in silent disappointment. Unexpectedly, he felt a light tapping on his side, and turned to see Swellow, who looked grave and serious. Given his very recent behavior (which Bulbasaur vowed to never forgive him for) this was somewhat unusual.

"_Bulbasaur… what's up with your shadow?_" he inquired quietly. Bulbasaur carelessly glanced at the shadow he was casting against the lab's wall.

And it glanced back.

With menacing eyes.

**AN; Oh no that's probably the crappiest piece of drama I've ever written what on earth will happen and whatnot. With that aside, read what I put at the top and apply it... not yet... okay now! **


	3. The Smiling Shadow

**AN; Hey, all, I'm back! Took a while to get this chapter up due to all of the exams that I've been having. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Chapter 3 - The Smiling Shadow**

Bulbasaur took a tentative step in the direction of his shadow, augmenting the shadow's size and causing the eyes to widen. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face as his shadow glared at him, striking him with horror. The eyes were a dark-crimson, an almost blood-like hue, and the irises were miniscule, yet they shrieked insanity. Every faltering step Bulbasaur took, the eyes continued to bore into him relentlessly, as though he was a highly interesting book. Though, with eyes like that, the book probably would have been about gruesome murders.

"_W-what are you!_" Bulbasaur asked the shadow. He was trying to sound confident, to speak with an air of authority, but he just sounded petrified. He grimaced at his sudden cowardice. In response, the shadow blinked at him, and then, without any warning, a broad and homicidal smirk appeared beneath the eyes. Bulbasaur screamed; Swellow squawked; Quilava raised an eyebrow; Heracross snored. And then, the dreadful shadow began to speak.

"_What I am is a matter of little importance,_" the shadow chuckled, "_for I doubt that any of you shall live long enough to remember._" Bulbasaur was taken aback, but tried to counter this threat with a sneer. However, the shadow only laughed at this, and Bulbasaur was struck completely dumb. Whatever it was they were dealing with, it was apparently very confident in itself. Despite this, Swellow darted forwards with much ruffling of feathers to confront the opponent.

"_Look, Chuckles. We're not going anywhere. We have people who need rescuing in that laboratory and we're not resting until they're safe and sound,_" he declared. Again, the shadow roared with malicious laughter, and Swellow faltered. To his side, Bulbasaur noticed that Quilava had dropped onto all fours and his flames had erupted out of his back again – obviously he was preparing for a serious battle with whatever this was.

"_Kekekeke!_" the shadow sniggered, "_I'm afraid my master wouldn't be too happy with me if I let you interfere with his plans. And if you're so adamant about loitering around here…_" The shadow paused, and the eyes closed. It appeared as though it was meditating, or focusing. Then, unexpectedly, a massive purple splotch of matter burst from the wall, with the deadly red eyes and the threatening smile attached. It was followed by stubby arms and legs, as well as an assortment of spikes littering the monster's back.

"_Everyone, get back!_" Quilava barked. Both Bulbasaur and Swellow obeyed, and all three of them leaped backwards, as the demon crashed to the ground, cackling at them and licking at its teeth with a large tongue. Taking a few, booming steps towards the group, it flexed its short, stubby claws threateningly.

"_If you're so adamant about loitering around here… I suppose I'll have to finish you all off myself!_" the Gengar screeched. Swellow gave a shriek of rage and soared at the ghost, preparing to stab at it with his powerful beak. The Gengar made no attempt to dodge, and it was soon clear why – Swellow soared straight through the Shadow Pokémon's stomach. It took this moment of temporary confusion to launch a stream of bright, crackling electricity at Swellow, who was directly hit by the Thunderbolt. The momentum that Swellow was flying at caused him to crash into the wall of the lab, and Bulbasaur winced when he heard a loud crunch.

"_Swellow!_" Bulbasaur screamed, making to run over to the bird, but Gengar appeared out of nowhere and blocked him. Bulbasaur was shocked – he hadn't even heard it move. As he calculated this, he was tossed aside by one of the ghost's claws. He tumbled through the air and hit the grass with a thump, and managed to push himself up just in time to see the demon advancing on Quilava. Quilava took a couple of steps back, assessing the situation, before he bounded at his opponent. He did a somersault in the air and unleashed a Flame Wheel attack.

By some miracle, the Gengar was able to dodge the attack, even though it was at rather close range. Not only that, it released a pulse of some dark substance, flinging Quilava quite a distance. Despite this, Quilava gave a menacing growl and rushed at Gengar, the flames on his back flaring up considerably. He bounded forwards again, but was thrown back by a Shadow Claw, just like Bulbasaur was. Bulbasaur felt another droplet of sweat on his brow, before Quilava rounded on him.

"_Bulbasaur, attack with me!_" he commanded. Bulbasaur gave a flustered nod, and released a swarm of sharp leaves which shot at Gengar like missiles. The ghost jumped into the air, avoiding the leaves and resulting in them pointlessly peppering the ground. Quilava rushed forward and fired a burst of flame from his mouth, which hit the ghost square in the face. Bulbasaur cheered, yet Quilava yelped, as Gengar suddenly released a powerful Dark Pulse, which knocked Quilava off of his feet.

"_Quilava, no!_" yelled Bulbasaur, running towards his companion. However, Gengar reached the weasel first, and gently placed a foot on his neck. Bulbasaur gasped, and his vines appeared from beneath his bulb and began to lash out at their attacker. Growling, Gengar rounded on the Seed Pokémon, whose bulbous eyes widened in horror.

"_You're beginning to irritate me,_" muttered Gengar, "_so perhaps you should just go to sleep now!_" Bulbasaur went to make a backwards hop as Gengar raised a claw, which was covered in a shadowy aura, but stumbled upon landing, leaving himself open for the strike. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could and braced himself.

However, the blow never came. Instead, Bulbasaur was knocked backwards about ten feet by a powerful explosion nearby. Once he landed, he staggered to his feet and cast around for the source of the explosion, and saw a huge cloud of dust where Gengar had been previously. He stared at the cloud, stunned, and waited for the dust to settle. The sight that awaited him was astonishing.

Gengar's face had been pounded into a fissure in the paddock, slabs of stone and dirt surrounding his unconscious body like pillars, with fine particles of dust orbiting them. Standing upon him was Heracross, his magnificent horn glittering with a brilliant white light and placed into the crook of Gengar's back. Slung over Heracross' back was Quilava's slim form, the embers on his back having suddenly been extinguished. However, there was one thing about the picture that confused Bulbasaur the most.

Heracross was still asleep.

"_… what,_" Bulbasaur said bluntly.

Heracross shook himself awake and groaned, and immediately obtained an optimistic look on his face. He bounced into the air and hovered over to Bulbasaur, Quilava clinging onto his horn for support, and made a beeline for Bulbasaur's bulb. Reacting quickly, Bulbasaur whipped out a vine and slapped Heracross in the face with it, struggling to force the insect away as Heracross did the breaststroke in midair.

"_Come on, man, I think I deserve a reward for totally owning that ghost dude!_" Heracross protested.

"_For the absolute last time, Heracross, no means no!_" Bulbasaur roared furiously, "_Anyway, we seriously need to check to see if Swellow's okay!_"

Heracross reluctantly nodded, and swooped over to the bird, Bulbasaur bounding after him in pursuit. Swellow was on his feet; however his left wing was bent at a slightly awkward angle. Quilava hopped down from Heracross' back and pawed at part of the wing, and Swellow winced in response. Quilava hesitated for a second, and then turned to the rest of the group.

"_Is there anyone on the ranch who has medicinal skills?_" he asked them. Bulbasaur considered this for a second, and even Heracross seemed to realize this was important, so he thought about it too.

"_Sure would be handy to have Brock around right now…_" Heracross pondered in a somehow absent-minded tone. Both Bulbasaur and Quilava nodded in agreement.

"_Well, I think the best thing we can do is put it on ice,_" Bulbasaur decided, "_that should at least sooth the pain for a while until we can find a doctor._"

"_Hey, don't think there'll be any need for that!_" Swellow protested, "_I'll be just fine, see, watch!_" He then attempted to fly, but instead gave a grunt of pain and was forced to land.

"_Don't try to fly for a while, you'll only make it worse,_" Quilava muttered, who apparently no longer seemed as interested in current events as he was a moment ago, as he was staring towards Mt. Silver in the distance. Swellow nodded, and opted to perch himself on top of Heracross' horn.

"_Please don't poop on me, dude._"

"_No promises._"

"_Shall we get going?_" inquired Bulbasaur impatiently. They all turned around and headed away from the lab, Quilava taking the lead. Bulbasaur hung back a little and walked alongside the odd living totem pole of Heracross & Swellow and smirked at the bird.

"_Not feeling so high and mighty now, eh?_" Bulbasaur quipped, "_Do you get it? High as in…_"

"_Yes, I know. Abso-freaking-lutely hilarious. Remind me to be a jerk to you when you've snapped your leg in half,_" Swellow retorted.

"_Hey, you don't have to be such a jerk about it…_"

**AN; Should be able to get the next chapter up in a few weeks, if not sooner. I've got mock exams next week, you see. So, see you all next time!**


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